Earlier this month, the collective exhibition “Listening to the Outside World: Conversations on Contemporary Abstract Painting” open on both Gagosian‘s Mayfair Gallery, curated by art historian and curator Gary Garrels. On view until August 25, 2023, more than 40 works by artists are represented, making the exhibition both a testament to Garrels’ curatorial vision and an unmissable opportunity to examine the condition of art. abstraction today. This exhibition continues Garrels’ longstanding commitment to showcasing the work of influential contemporary artists; previously, he was co-curator of “Vija Clemins: To Fix the Image in Memory” (SFMOMA, 2018-19); “Bruce Conner: It’s All True” (MoMA, 2016); and “Richard Serra Drawing: A Retrospective” (Menil Collection, 2012), to name but a few.
After the current exhibition at the Gagosian premiere, we reached out to Garrels to find out more about the curatorial underpinnings of the exhibition and the insights he picked up along the way.
Installation view of “To Bend the Ear of the Outer World: Conversations on contemporary abstract painting” (2023). Photo: Lucy Dawkins. © Gerhard Richter 2023 (13032023) © Stanley Whitney © 2023 Frank Bowling. All rights reserved / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London. Courtesy of Gagosian.
Can you tell us a bit about what led or inspired you to organize the next collective exhibition with Gagosian?
The gallery invited me to put on an exhibition, and I’ve always loved abstract painting. In recent years, I think abstraction has been moved away from figurative painting, so I thought it would be a good time to take a fresh look at contemporary abstract painting.
How would you describe the main goals of the show? How is this reflected in its title “To Bend the Ear of the Outer World”?
The abstract painting is engaged in conversation mostly on its own terms. Questions of surface, color, materials, scale and light lead us to reconsider the understanding of our vision. By moving away from external reference, abstraction allows artists to explore the widest variety of visual expressions.
Installation view of “To Bend the Ear of the Outer World: Conversations on contemporary abstract painting” (2023). Photo: Lucy Dawkins. Courtesy of Gagosian.
What was your initial approach to organizing this exhibition? Has this approach evolved or changed during the production of the show?
I wanted to work with living artists and get involved in their reflection and their approaches to the work in progress. I’m very interested in artists who have been working for many years but still find unresolved challenges in their work and new artists who find their own ways of reconsidering traditions.
Did anything surprise you? Or did you acquire specific knowledge that you did not have before?
I’m always amazed at the variety of approaches to abstract painting being done today. Individual artists have confidence in their own voices and the desire to make works that match the ambition of the best artists of past generations. They don’t set them aside but rather find ways to move forward.
Installation view of “To Bend the Ear of the Outer World: Conversations on contemporary abstract painting” (2023). Photo: Lucy Dawkins. ©Oscar Murillo. © Jadé Fadojutimi. Courtesy of Gagosian.
What do you hope visitors to the exhibition take away?
I think abstract painting remains a challenge for many people who want to feel they can adequately describe a painting and its meaning. But for me the best painting and especially abstract painting resists easy resolution and actually invites subjective answers. I hope this exhibition will encourage people to allow themselves the pleasure and the confidence to trust their own experience with a painting.
Are there any works in the show that you consider your favorite or the ones that you are most looking forward to seeing included?
I must say that I am delighted with the conversations I had with all the artists and their commitment to the exhibition. Without exception, each of them offered a table among their best. I enjoy spending time with each painting here.
Charline von Heyl Circus (2022). Pictured: Jason Mandella. Courtesy of the artist and Petzel, New York.
“Listening to the Outside World: Conversations on Contemporary Abstract Paintingis on view at Gagosian Grosvenor Hill and Davies Street, London, until August 25, 2023.
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